It has potential to be a bad one for us, forget that the seemingly unhittable Fister and Verlander are going in the series, the Detroit starter we have the best record against in this series is Verlander which tells its own story.

"There is but one thing of real value: to cultivate truth and justice and to live without anger in the midst of lying and unjust men"

If the Indians lose 2/3 or worse I'll hear how they blow and are doomed.

Neither is the case, of course. But it's May and this is how I keep track of the months and the weeks.

I do hope I can get a bit more of the attendance talk, Chris Perez talk, negativity talk and condescending "everyone not going is stupid or a Browns lemming or derserves it when the team leaves" talk in general.

Not that I don't think this franchise is immune from leaving if no one supports it. But bitching at those of here about it really solves nothing since we're going already and we're proselytizing as well.

It's as enoyable to me as hearing again how many events were at the Staples Center this weekend and how much work was involved changing the floor.

If the Indians lose 2/3 or worse I'll hear how they blow and are doomed.

They are doomed and this is still a .500 team at overachieving best. The roster is what it is and Detroit is underachieveing.

This is like the Browns at 2 - 1 against a 1 - 2 Pittsburgh team. Don't get hooked. The TOR is still inconsisntent, the middle and lower line up blows over the long haul and D Lowe ainb't gonna prop it up for long with his epic K :: ratio. Likin' I dream of JenMar lately as a developing young arm tho. The bully is money. But that's no where near a contender no matter what the fits few eeks indicate.

The fans are smarter than Perez. But I got me 3 BP fill up cards so I'm getting closer to going, Chris, and giving the Dolans what they are worth investment-wise.

Also, do we have any realistic trade ammo to be in the game for the good rent-a-players come deadline time? Or did we basically cash in all our chips for Ubaldo? We have 2-3 spots in our lineup that aren't up to par for MLB standards, let alone a playoff contender. I'd kill for a .250 Fukudome type in left field right now, which is depressing.

"Well then I guess there's only one thing left to do...win the whole, f***in', thing."- Jake Taylor

If the Indians lose 2/3 or worse I'll hear how they blow and are doomed.

They are doomed and this is still a .500 team at overachieving best. The roster is what it is and Detroit is underachieveing.

This is like the Browns at 2 - 1 against a 1 - 2 Pittsburgh team. Don't get hooked. The TOR is still inconsisntent, the middle and lower line up blows over the long haul and D Lowe ainb't gonna prop it up for long with his epic K :: ratio. Likin' I dream of JenMar lately as a developing young arm tho. The bully is money. But that's no where near a contender no matter what the fits few eeks indicate.

The fans are smarter than Perez. But I got me 3 BP fill up cards so I'm getting closer to going, Chris, and giving the Dolans what they are worth investment-wise.

I tend to agree and mentioned I'm not of the belief they'll sustain this 'success'. Which only gets you 'hater' status from everyone dreaming of ice cream and rainbows.

Love to be wrong but it's hard to argue when you consider what you noted above and the myriad of other issues this team faces.

I am going to start a 'franchise sustainability' thread though. Love to hear your thoughts on if and for how long a team like Tribe can remain in Cleveland without an increase in attendance.

People will be all "Eff you and the moving and blah blah blah... I hate you.." but this team can't stay here forever with the attendance as it is. It won't stay here forever under those circumstances nor should it.

If the Indians lose 2/3 or worse I'll hear how they blow and are doomed.

They are doomed and this is still a .500 team at overachieving best. The roster is what it is and Detroit is underachieveing.

This is like the Browns at 2 - 1 against a 1 - 2 Pittsburgh team. Don't get hooked. The TOR is still inconsisntent, the middle and lower line up blows over the long haul and D Lowe ainb't gonna prop it up for long with his epic K :: ratio. Likin' I dream of JenMar lately as a developing young arm tho. The bully is money. But that's no where near a contender no matter what the fits few eeks indicate.

The fans are smarter than Perez. But I got me 3 BP fill up cards so I'm getting closer to going, Chris, and giving the Dolans what they are worth investment-wise.

I tend to agree and mentioned I'm not of the belief they'll sustain this 'success'. Which only gets you 'hater' status from everyone dreaming of ice cream and rainbows.

Love to be wrong but it's hard to argue when you consider what you noted above and the myriad of other issues this team faces.

I am going to start a 'franchise sustainability' thread though. Love to hear your thoughts on if and for how long a team like Tribe can remain in Cleveland without an increase in attendance.

People will be all "Eff you and the moving and blah blah blah... I hate you.." but this team can't stay here forever with the attendance as it is. It won't stay here forever under those circumstances nor should it.

Agree with all of that. Low attendance is due to a mindset that this is all a systemic pointless exercize due to ownership, ture or not. Let the barrage begin.

peeker643 wrote:If the Indians lose 2/3 or worse I'll hear how they blow and are doomed.

I'll take you up on that right now, Peeker.

Just look at the roster. Swiss cheese. Do Mark Shapiro and Chris Antonetti have ANY idea what they're doing? Do they know ANYTHING about professional baseball talent and roster composition? (Examples: A lack of right-handed power hitters on a home field with an inviting left-field home run porch. Or, for that matter, no bona fide power hitters AT ALL. A minor-league system that is ranked 29th of 30.) Shapiro/Antonetti have had more epic FAILS in the last three or four seasons alone than John Hart had in his entire 15 years with the Indians and Rangers.

This organization needs more baseball MINDS in the F.O. and more baseball PLAYERS on the field. But as long as .501 will win the AL Central and Lerner can make $30 million a year on this club, there is no hope of brighter days.

"Window of opportunity." Ha! That sucker has been banging in the breeze for an entire decade.

The Tigers have plenty of problems and we'll get to see how we can expose them. The IF defense is terrible and if you keep Austin Jackson off the bases and pitch to Cabrera and Fielder with the bases empty, they struggle to score runs. Peralta just hit his 2nd HR of the season yesterday. Their middle relief is questionable.

The Tigers have already played 16 one-run games and are just a .500 ballclub against RH starters.

I think too much will be made of this series than is warranted, but I'd be lying if I said I'm not excited for it. They navigated through a really difficult part of the schedule by going 12-9. Regardless of the holes, the problems, whatever, this is not a bad ballclub. And that's with a lot of players performing below their mean and only a couple performing well over it.

A God Damn dead man would understand that if a minor league bus in any city took a real sharp right turn, a Zack McCalister would likely fall out. - Lead Pipe

skatingtripods wrote:I think too much will be made of this series than is warranted, but I'd be lying if I said I'm not excited for it. They navigated through a really difficult part of the schedule by going 12-9. Regardless of the holes, the problems, whatever, this is not a bad ballclub. And that's with a lot of players performing below their mean and only a couple performing well over it.

This.

"It's like dating a woman who hates you so much she will never break up with you, even if you burn down the house every single autumn." ~ Chuck Klosterman on Browns fans relationship with the Browns

Also, do we have any realistic trade ammo to be in the game for the good rent-a-players come deadline time? Or did we basically cash in all our chips for Ubaldo? We have 2-3 spots in our lineup that aren't up to par for MLB standards, let alone a playoff contender. I'd kill for a .250 Fukudome type in left field right now, which is depressing.

If you really, absolutely, positively thought you were going for it this year, you could theoretically trade Chisenhall in the belief that Hannahan is your third baseman. The others in the upper minors (Laporta, Phelps) have dubious trade value...which might be enough to get somebody else's salary dump bat.

Also, do we have any realistic trade ammo to be in the game for the good rent-a-players come deadline time? Or did we basically cash in all our chips for Ubaldo? We have 2-3 spots in our lineup that aren't up to par for MLB standards, let alone a playoff contender. I'd kill for a .250 Fukudome type in left field right now, which is depressing.

If you really, absolutely, positively thought you were going for it this year, you could theoretically trade Chisenhall in the belief that Hannahan is your third baseman. The others in the upper minors (Laporta, Phelps) have dubious trade value...which might be enough to get somebody else's salary dump bat.

Perez?

I see Grady as the mid season acquisition. If you're looking for pitching, ugh... not much tradeable value in minors.

Yeah, forgot to mention him. It's possible, but (leaving off the field aside) if the Indians weren't willing to deal him from a possible position of strength in the offseason, I doubt they would do it during the season, especially given Sipp's struggles.

Also, do we have any realistic trade ammo to be in the game for the good rent-a-players come deadline time? Or did we basically cash in all our chips for Ubaldo? We have 2-3 spots in our lineup that aren't up to par for MLB standards, let alone a playoff contender. I'd kill for a .250 Fukudome type in left field right now, which is depressing.

If you really, absolutely, positively thought you were going for it this year, you could theoretically trade Chisenhall in the belief that Hannahan is your third baseman. The others in the upper minors (Laporta, Phelps) have dubious trade value...which might be enough to get somebody else's salary dump bat.

Perez?

I see Grady as the mid season acquisition. If you're looking for pitching, ugh... not much tradeable value in minors.

Horrifyingly true. The legitimacy of this Indians season rests less on their ability to hit, which they will continue to do at a fehmehblah rate, but more on their ability to get Masterson straight again and continue to get good starts from Lowe, Tomlin, Gomez. I see Ubaldo as a complete disaster, and doubt Fauxberto makes an appearance this year.

A dominant 2011 version of Masterson, and you're doing a-ight. Without him, I dont even want to imagine the playoffs anyway.

Check me out at Dawgsbynature, where I write stuff, or @twitter as Josh Finney.

Am I alone in just being cautiously optimistic, reveling in every win, in incremental reasons for hope?

So much has already happened that wasn't counted on in the winter. Good: Hannahan's bat. Jeanmar. Lowe. etc. Bad: Ubaldo's trend. Sizemore hurt. No production at 1b, LF. Who knows how the rest of the season will play out?

I am imagining playoffs.

Edit: I googled the sandwich heavy portfolio thing so now we number five.

I still think it's smoke and mirrors to an extent when looking at the offensive lineup, and even somewhat the starting rotation but at the same time, the Tigers and White Sox aren't the '98 Yankees either.

And I'll give you this. If they can't draft an impact player worth a damn since who, CC?, to save their lives. If they can't get more than Teddy the Wonder Lizzard for a pair of Cy Young aces. And if they did and they couldn't keep him and can't sign a meaningful impact FA because the system is rigged, then they are the masters at finding plug in chicken McNuggetts that are meaningful contributors. I'll give them that. Certainly the other orgs in town would be far better off if they could do anything close to likewise.

But with apologies to Adam, and propers for his PD link!! ,while games may not be won on paper, most of the time MLB is an exercize in regression to the mean, and seasons are certainly almost always won on paper. And I don't believe the paper. If you do, well..... then look at TT's stat line.